Round 1Referee Herb Dean is the third man in the cage for tonight’s first
bout. Branch dives on a takedown but Jacoby stuffs the shot and
reverses Branch into the fence, delivering a few knees before
breaking off. Jacoby keeps his distance from the rangier man and
connects with some solid low kicks and jabs. Branch shoots again
and hits an easy takedown this time, quickly scooting Jacoby toward
the fence. It’s a better spot for Jacoby, who uses the cage to work
back to his feet. Branch won’t let go and pins Jacoby on the fence
while driving a few knees to the body. Jacoby escapes the tie-up
and manages a few more body kicks. Jacoby moves forward on Branch
in the closing seconds but neither man lands any meaningful
strikes.

Round 2Jacoby comes out strong in round two, flicking out jabs and
staggering Branch with a hard right hand. Branch is on his
backfoot, looking to counter, but it’s Jacoby who lands a counter
left after timing a Branch low kick. Jacoby turns away a single-leg
attempt from Branch and continues pressing forward. The next
takedown attempt gets Jacoby down, but only for a second. Branch
tries to cling to Jacoby’s back and can’t hold on there either.
Branch is starting to pump his jab late in the round as he moves
out of the way of some lefts from Jacoby. A jab from Branch knocks
Jacoby’s mouthpiece out and they resume with about 40 seconds
remaining. Branch has a shot stuffed, sticks another jab and
sidesteps a Jacoby head kick to finish the round.

Round 3Branch denies a takedown from Jacoby and punishes him with an
uppercut. It’s more of the same from the end of round two, with
Jacoby pressing forward but Branch working long, straight punches.
Again, Jacoby’s mouthpiece falls out after a jab from Branch. He
shoots a double and Branch stands him up against the fence. A punch
from Branch has opened a deep cut above Jacoby’s left eyebrow.
Branch keeps circling on the outside, using head movement to dodge
Jacoby’s winging strikes. The fight ends with Jacoby working for a
single-leg as Branch sprawls against the fence.

Official result: All three judges score the bout 29-28 for
the winner by unanimous decision, David Branch.

D.
Mandel

'JZ' was rocking and leglocking.

Round 1Steve Mazzagatti is the referee for this lightweight bout. O’Brien
manages to keep Cavalcante away with kicks for the first 30
seconds, then JZ soon shoots in and hits a double-leg takedown
against the fence. O’Brien throws up his long legs, hunting for a
triangle, but Cavalcante turns the tables and rolls for a leglock.
O’Brien sits with his back to the fence while JZ cranks his right
leg upside-down in a nasty heel hook. O’Brien is forced to tap out
after just 63 seconds.
Round 1Referee Chris Tognoni watches over this welterweight bout. Burkman
takes the outside early and attacks Harris’ lead leg with kicks
inside and outside. Burkman pins Harris on the fence but can’t
wrestle him down, instead settling for some foot stomps. The second
effort finds Burkman lifting Harris into the air and slamming him
to the ground at the base of the fence. Burkman tries to extract
his right leg from half-guard as he peppers with punches on top.
Harris sits up and Burkman sprawls backward, keeping Harris on his
seat with a front headlock. Good knees from Burkman as he drills
the sitting Harris in the chest. Burkman is framing up a guillotine
but Harris defends by peeling off the wrists and stands back up.
Burkman side-kicks Harris’ knee and then flicks one at his face.
Harris is pressing in but not letting his hands go, and Burkman
seems happy to spend the last minute on the outside, flashing kicks
and knees. With 20 seconds to go, Harris clinches up and puts
Burkman on the fence. They trade knees inside and jockey for
position as the round expires.

Round 2The welterweights pick up where they left off, pummeling against
the fence. They break off after 30 seconds and Burkman takes the
outside again, his hands at his waist, looking to counter. Harris
isn’t throwing, though, and Burkman continues to wait. Burkman
backs Harris off with a side kick then rushes him across the cage
with a single-leg. Harris puts his back on the fence, still
defending the takedown, and grabs a guillotine choke with his right
arm. The choke looks deep but Burkman is defending well, using the
cage at his back to relieve pressure.

Harris won’t let go and throws a few knees to the body before
cranking the choke again. Burkman wags his finger behind Harris’
back, letting ref Tognoni know that he’s not in danger. One minute
to go now and Burkman seems to have had enough, attacking Harris’
thighs with knees until Harris finally releases the choke. Burkman
attacks with punches and head kicks before the horn but can’t
connect.

Round 3Both men come out firing and Burkman is soon shooting on a
single-leg. Harris turns it away but Burkman makes him pay with a
right hand on the exit. Burkman paws at a cut over his right eye
which may be affecting his vision. Harris traps Burkman against the
fence and slugs him with a wide right hand. Harris can’t do much on
the fence and lets Burkman go. Harris is coming forward, starting
to rack up punches before putting Burkman on the cage. Again,
nothing comes of it and Burkman breaks out. Two minutes to go and
Burkman is back on the outside, flicking out kicks to the legs and
body. Harris won’t stop coming forward and he pays for his
aggression as Burkman floors him with about a minute left in the
bout. Burkman grabs a headlock before Harris scrambles to his feet,
only to be plowed down again by Burkman. Full mount now for
Burkman, who has 20 seconds to try and finish. Harris gets to his
feet with Burkman still attached to his back as time runs out.

Official result: It's a unanimous decision with the judges
scoring the contest 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Josh Burkman.

Round 1Torres catches Cobb below the belt with a kick right off the bat.
Referee Herb Dean steps in and gives him time to recover. Cobb is
ready in a few moments and they get back after it. Torres rushes in
on Cobb and throws some ill-intentioned shots but Cobb is able to
avoid the brunt of the punches. Cobb locks up Torres and launches
him to the mat but can’t establish position. Torres reverses him
and ends up on top. Cobb sinks a guillotine but Torres uses the
cage to walk up and relieve the pressure. He escapes and goes back
to work from the guard. Torres takes his back and pounds away until
Cobb turns back into him. A few more punches force him back to his
belly. Torres unloads on him from back mount and Cobb tries to go
out the back door. Torres won’t let him loose and locks up an arm
and searches for an inverted triangle as time expires on the first
frame. Sherdog.com scores the round 10-9 Torres.

D.
Mandel

Cobb crept by Torres on points.

Round 2Torres comes out with a big uppercut that misses but he is not
discouraged. He attacks Cobb with punches and he backs him into the
cage. Cobb jumps to guard as much as Torres takes him down. Torres
establishes position and strikes at his grounded opponent. Cobb
tries to wriggle free but ends up giving up his back once again.
Torres searches for the submission but Cobb is able to turn back
into him and the scramble is on. Cobb grabs a guillotine but Torres
easily defends. Torres lurches forward for a double-leg takedown
but Cobb locks up a serious guillotine, it is deep. Cobb arches his
back from top position but Torres finds some space and pulls his
head free. Cobb still has the front headlock and proceeds to pound
away until the horn. Sherdog.com scores the second round 10-9
Cobb.

Round 3Torres takes Cobb down as the final and potentially deciding round
commences. Cobb, with his back against the cage, works his way back
to his feet and drops for a single-leg. Torres retreats and backs
his way to the center of the cage. Cobb advances and the fighters
clinch and trade short shots. Torres dives in for a double but Cobb
sprawls and grabs a singe on his way up. He ends up in
belly-to-back along the cage and tries to drag Torres to the mat.
Torres breaks Cobb's grip and escapes. Torres lands a nice right
hand and then shrugs his way out of a weak Cobb single-leg attempt
but his back is on the cage and Cobb gets him to the ground on the
re-shot. Torres is back up bit Cobb is on his back as Torres posts
on his hands. Not much doing in the final 20 seconds and the horn
sounds ending the affair. Sherdog.com scores round three 10-9 for
Brian Cobb and the bout 29-28 in Cobb’s favor.

Official result: The official scores are 29-28 Cobb, 29-28
Torres and 29-28 for the winner by split decision, Brian Cobb.

D.
Mandel

Steele came back to pound out Gracie.

Round 1Gracie and Steele circle the cage looking for an opening but
neither fighter seems ready to commit. About a minute in Gracie
charges in and grabs a single-leg and methodically works him to the
mat. Gracie clears Steele’s guard and locks up an arm triangle but
it isn’t tight enough. Gracie goes to the figure-four grip and
Steele still manages to keep the blood flowing to his brain. Gracie
goes to knee on belly and works for an arm but he can't secure it
and Steele is free. Back on their feet it is all Steele. He lands
punches at will and then drops Gracie with a knee. He pounces and
bombs away until referee Chris Tognoni steps in to end the assault
at 4:52 of the opening round.

D.
Mandel

Spong brutally beat Barlett in his MMA debut.

Round 1Spong stalks his opponent from the center of the cage, pushing
Bartlett back toward the fence with a series of hard kicks to the
body and one to the head. Spong launches himself into the air and
drops Bartlett with another head kick. It looks as though Bartlett
might be done but he recovers as Spong stands over him, kicking at
Bartlett’s legs. Bartlett stands, his back still on the fence, now
bleeding above his left ear. Spong makes Bartlett flinch with a
body blow and circles out. Bartlett is just absorbing all of
Spong’s punches and leg kicks, though the offense is sporadic as
the round reaches the midway point. A pair of ripping right hands
bloody Bartlett’s nose before two left hands land on his liver. A
straight right hand on the cheek finally puts Bartlett down and
Spong just strolls off, leaving ref Steve Mazzagatti to tend to the
downed Bartlett. Tyrone Spong wins his MMA debut at 3:15 of the
opening round.
Round 1Moraes has a high kick blocked, then catches a body kick from
Torres and socks the former WEC champ in the face for his trouble.
Moraes swarms with punches and the bantamweights clinch up. Torres
rolls for a leglock which Moraes defends before scrambling back to
his feet. Moraes lands a chopping outside low kick followed by a
spinning kick to the breadbasket. Moraes comes forward with a left
hook to the body and a right hand up top. Torres counters with a
right, gets off the cage and catches a kick from Moraes. Midway
through the round now and Moraes continues to walk Torres down.
Moraes connects with an overhand right and an uppercut behind it.
Torres whiffs on a punch and gets turned around, now with a small
stream of blood trickling from the right side of his hairline. The
offense slows in the final minute of the frame as the blood
accumulates on Torres’ face.

Round 2Moraes opens up with a hard outside leg kick and Torres responds by
stepping into the pocket and winging punches. It’s Torres circling
on the outside, mixing up his angles and trying to establish his
jab. Just as he lands a few, Moraes breaks up the momentum with a
charging right hand. Moraes does well to counter the next flurry
from Torres, countering with a right hook and an uppercut. Torres
shoots a low single-leg and Moraes steps away. The middle of the
round sees much feinting and leg kicking, which draws boos from the
Vegas crowd. A turning kick to the midsection by Moraes gets their
attention back. A heavy exchange of punches with one minute left
has Torres dropped momentarily in the center of the cage; Moraes
can’t capitalize as Torres hops back up instantly. Torres loops a
good right hand on Moraes’ ear before the round expires.

Round 3Torres worsens the bleeding on the bridge of Moraes’ nose with some
more jabs in the early going of round three, but it’s still Moraes
winning the leg kick battle. The jabs keep coming from Torres, who
is sticking and moving in the center while Moraes remains on the
outside. They switch spots and a leaping kick from Moraes draws an
“ooh” from the crowd but misses Torres, who takes the center back
and gets the better of a close-quarters exchange. Torres cracks
Moraes with a left hand behind the ear but Moraes doesn’t budge. A
low kick lands for Moraes as he backpedals away from Torres, who’s
just racking up jabs with a minute to go. Moraes shoots in and puts
Torres on his back with a double-leg at the 45-second mark. Torres
puts the Brazilian in his guard and throws double-handed chops to
either side of Moraes’ head, and it’s the veteran who’s more active
down the stretch, working off his back.

Official result: Judge Dave Hagen scores the bout 30-27 for
Moraes, while Junichiro Kamijo sees it 29-28 in favor of Torres.
The final judge, Mark Smith, has it 29-28 for the winner by split
decision, Marlon Moraes.

After the bout, World Series of Fighting announces that Marlon
Moraes will fight Tyson Nam
sometime in early 2013.

D.
Mandel

Johnson's right had Linderman out before heeven hit the floor.

Round 1Only seconds into the fight, a low kick from Johnson catches
Linderman in the cup. Linderman drops to the mat in pain as ref
Herb Dean warns Johnson against any further fouls. Linderman
recovers and they get back to action, and now Johnson is
headhunting with punches and high kicks. Linderman steps in to
throw hands and gets his leg kicked out. He’s right back to his
feet but Johnson keeps the leg kicks coming, now punishing the
outside of Linderman’s lead leg. “Rumble” drags Linderman down
along the fence and works some short ground-and-pound. Knees to the
thighs from Johnson now as Linderman works his way back up. Johnson
appears to take a finger in the eye but the fight continues.
Linderman charges at Johnson with straight punches and a short
right hand counter sends Linderman crashing to the canvas, face
first, out cold at 3:58 of round one. Highlight reel KO for Anthony
Johnson.

D.
Mandel

Arlovski sunk his teeth into Cole quickly.

Round 1Referee Steve Mazzagatti is in charge of tonight’s heavyweight main
event. The big men glare at one another from across the cage, and
they don’t touch gloves once the bell rings. Arlovski is flicking
out jabs early, keeping Cole away with snappy punches and push
kicks. A pair of right hands from Arlovski find their marks and
Cole goes after a single-leg. Arlovski hops backward into the fence
and grabs Cole’s head in the Thai plum as he defends the takedown.
Cole gives it up and pushes Arlovski into the cage with over-unders
and some half-hearted knees to the thigh. Arlovski turns Cole
around and they separate to resume striking. An Arlovski right hand
on the temple sends Cole to the canvas in the center of the cage,
and the former UFC champ pounces to finish him off with
hammerfists. Referee Mazzagatti steps in to wave it off at 2:37 of
round one.
view original article >>

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